But in some ways it's more rewarding to parent an adult because you can have great conversations with them and watch them really hit the curve balls that life throws their way. This is when you know whether or not you taught them all you could, if you trust that you were a good parent. This is where the rubber meets the road so to speak.

With a two-year-old, all you can do is allow them to have their tantrum and keep walking down the isle. There is no reasoning with them. Until then, I get to enjoy this sweet face. Yes, she's really starting to teethe now, but alas, that doesn't last so long. (I'm already missing the tiny infant stage!)

Christmas is a great time to be a parent. It's also one of the most harrowing holiday experiences because you or your child can go from jubilation to puking in a matter of 10 seconds. Also, no matter how carefully you plan, all bets are off if the car needs new tires (like mine does) or you need a new water heater (put one in last week).

So, to make your holidays just a little brighter, I'm giving away one little gem of a book. (Acutally, it's an eBook, so you can save it on your computer. I'm all about not adding to the clutter of the holidays!)

To win, just leave a comment between now and Thursday, December 10th, 2009, midnight MST (mountain time). Tell me about your most harrowing holiday experience (with or without kids). I'll break out the tissues and hand out all the compassion and sympathy that I can and pick a winner at Random.org.

By the way, check out the awesome eZine that my friends at Ella Publishing are writing. It's very insightful and creative. And in case you're missing the best magazine EVER - Simple Scrapbooks magazine - it will give you just a little taste. You can even sign up for their free email newsletter to keep up on the latest from Ella Publishing.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Have you ever considered all of the things that require the use of your thumbs and wrists? Well, I have! Not because I'm some intellectual genius, but because I've been suffering with De Quervain's Tenosnovitis in my right wrist and thumb since June. Basically, my right wrist and thumb have been pretty useless for 5 months and it makes life really difficult, especially when it comes to diapering, cleaning and holding a baby.

It also hinders my ability to slice vegetables, stir batter or sauces and bake or do anything in the kitchen. Enter my youngest son. Shawn is still at home, he being only 16 and still in high school. So he gets to learn many things that my oldest sons weren't privy to because I had the full use of both hands and didn't need any help. (Thinking back on it, I wish I had taken the opportunity to teach more cooking skills to my older sons while they were home. Alas, regrets won't get the dishes washed! At least they know how to clean up. But I digress.)

Just like everyone else in America, our family is trying to save money. We're also trying to be more healthy (translation: I am trying to eat healthier, so by default everyone else is too!). So I decided that we could make our own bread. I used to make bread from scratch for my family every week. Boy did I have some nice biceps and triceps! How hard could it be to do it again, right? Ugh, not so. My hand prevents me from kneading the dough.

So then I think I'll just get out my bread maker. But being the ever efficient minded person that I am, I'm always trying to think about ways to maximize time and resources and the bread maker only makes one loaf at a time. I want to bake more than one loaf at a time because I only want to do it once a week.

So, I say to Shawn, "You're going to learn how to make bread! Isn't that cool?!?" Shawn just stares at me and wonders where I left my brain. But he's a good son and listens to my complaints and consents to "learn" how to make bread.

The first two times the kitchen was too cold and the bread hardly rose. But it was good and we ate it anyhow (saving money you know!). The third time was the charm! We proofed the bread in a warm oven (thanks GreenJello).The long and short of it is that necessity really is the mother of invention and teenagers are wonderful people if given the chance. Thanks for the lovely bread, Shawn!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Hi! I'm new to the blogging world, but I'm a second-time Mommy. What I mean is that I have two adult children, one still in high school and a new little one who made her debut to our family in May. That's what I want to blog about - insights about raising children, thoughts about being a mom, etc.

Story time: Recently, my mother-in-law suggested that I start a blog about what it's like to be raising another child at this point in my life. You see, my two oldest sons are both in the adult world and my third is on his way in another year. My husband, Dave, and I had reconciled ourselves that we would never have another child and our nest would soon be empty. But that was okay with me because we started our family very young and I was beginning to look forward to doing things that we missed because we were raising a family. Stuff like traveling or just sharing a quiet breakfast together or not having a curfew. You know, stuff most married people do for a few years before they start having children. But I digress...

After much thought I decided to try out this blogging thing. I have a lot of friends who blog and they make it seem so easy! The least it will give me is a place to journal my thoughts and a reason to keep up with it. Maybe someday I'll even make a little cash :p). Who knows. For now, it's a place to capture the musings and thoughts that pop into my head.

Before I sign off for the night, I want to say "Thanks!" to my three oldest children. They were/are the guinea pigs to my parenting. We've really grown up together (more on that later). They have helped me learn and grow much more than I have probably ever helped them. Next to my husband, they are my favorite people in the whole world. (Yep, I'm getting sappy, but that's what moms do - get used to it!).